


Makeshift Superhero

by GibbousLunation



Series: The whole world in your corner [1]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Baby mikey, Brotherly Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Siblings, Turtle Tots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 07:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16321880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GibbousLunation/pseuds/GibbousLunation
Summary: Leo wanted to be like those good heroes, he saw on TV and movies, the ones that saved the world and everyone loved. He found shirts for Mikey, scarves and knick knacks for Don, helped Raph de-stress by watching his favorite shows, getting Splinter’s tea ready when he wasn’t looking. He was happy, really he was.It was just hard sometimes. To pretend the big blue world outside the grates didn’t pull in stitches and seams at his chest when he stared too long,  to pretend that the way his brothers groaned at his jokes didn’t make him feel like he was swallowing grey paint. To pretend like their constant near injuries and loud noises and pranks weren’t getting under his skin just a little.Mostly, he worried. He loved his brothers, and they loved him, but man, a guy needed a break.Unfortunately, the world, turtle luck, and Mikey as a general concept, weren't about to let him rest easy any time soon.Based off of this amazing art! https://kalaakaar-m8.tumblr.com/post/178790836797/was-meant-to-post-this-about-a-week-ago-but-whoop





	Makeshift Superhero

**Author's Note:**

> Just gotta say, been a huge TMNT fan for years. My first ever fan fic when I was a small 13 year old was a ninja turtles fic, and its so amazing to have a version of these kids around that makes me feel inspired to keep writing stuff for them almost 10 years later. Rise of the TMNT is so cute and wholesome and wildly entertaining, I hope every person working hard on that show knows I've cried at least 4 times just thinking about the love and care they put into it. 
> 
> Anyways, I found this amazing art the other day and felt compelled to write something quick and fun about it! I love the interactions of the brother's in this show, and wanted to expand a little bit on how Leo grew into the confident guy he is, how he still retains those strong big brother instincts and how much love they all have for each other even behind the teasing. Anyways check this artist out! https://kalaakaar-m8.tumblr.com/post/178790836797/was-meant-to-post-this-about-a-week-ago-but-whoop

Being a kid was hard, Leo decided. Sure, all the movies and TV shows said it wasn’t always the best, but none of them ever had three brothers who couldn’t stay out of trouble for five seconds. None of them were turtles either, but, that seemed mostly fair actually.

Raph was easily the least of his worries, being so frantically concerned about everyone else meant he was always following the buddy system at least. It also meant he spent probably a little too much of his brain power filling up with anxiety juice, and Leo had to spend a couple of hours reassuring him that everyone was fine here and there, but he wasn’t about to wander off on his own at least. 

Donnie was always, _ always _ wandering off. Sure, he was responsible, and invented at least half of the cool tools and dohickeys they used on a day to day basis, but he also maybe had a little too much faith in his ability to notice things. And maybe spent a little too much time in his head. Trying to convince Don to take a break or have a nap or _ stop drinking coffee you are seven years old, Splinter said you’ll stunt your growth!  _ was impossible when the guy knew more about anatomy and the impacts of caffeine than even their dad did. 

Mikey though, oh Mikey. Leo loved his brothers so much, he really did, but Mikey was his responsibility, he was, well.  _ Mike _ . Splinter had sat him down once and told him as much, that because Mikey was little, and he grew slower, they had to be careful. Mikey was born different, Splinter said, he wasn’t as tough as Raph or him, but he could curl up all the way into his shell if he wanted to, and nobody on the planet had a brain as big as Donnie’s. Mikey was observant, people smart, and he was a bright crayon swirl spiraling outside of any box anyone could put him in, but he was bouncy too. He got hurt a lot. 

Mike was, strange, in way Leo loved fiercely but also worried him. He’d fall over sometimes and scrape his arms up really bad but he wouldn’t even cry. One time he’d sprained an ankle jumping off of a ledge that was too high, and when Raph had frantically ran over to check on him, Mikey’d just smiled and asked him if  _ he _ was okay. Leo didn’t understand him, but that was okay. Splinter said he didn’t have to understand everyone, he just had to love them anyway, and he was good at that part. 

He watched everything Leo did, Splinter said. Because Mikey thought he was cool and funny and wanted to be just like him. Mikey also got sick lots when they were little though, because he was small, because they were all different from each other and Mikey was different in a way that meant they had to worry when he fell down or sneezed too much. 

Leo thought it was amazing that a cool kid like Mikey looked up to him so much, but it also terrified him. Responsibility wasn’t really something he’d ever had to deal with, having a brother as strong and protective as Raph was meant he got to take it easy most of the time, theoretically. Mikey was pure sunlight bottled up in a bright package left in a back corner shelf for too long, he was antsy. He should be antsy. Leo was only seven but he knew things. Like how the heroes in movies always had fans and friends and somewhere to run to when home was a little too loud. Like how the funny sidekick characters got less and less screen time as the movie went on, and the optimistic ones always got hurt. 

Mikey deserved to be the star of his own show, to be a bright blinking neon sign that everyone could ooh and ahh over. So did Donnie, he knew that Don woulda been one of those p words he could never pronounce just right- something that sounded kind of like porridge?- if he was human and went to school like humans did. Donnie didn’t need anyone to tell him as much - Leo did anyways, of course, like they all did, but Don had sort of a quiet confidence in him that went beyond Leo’s supportive noogies and Mikey’s quiet gasps of happiness. 

As for Raph, he was happiest when he was working through a problem by actively involving himself, leadership hung off him like a big cuddly coat everyone loved. Raph didn’t need fans, he’d said, cause he had three awesome brothers. Leo thought he was like the real cool superheroes, the kind that did things just because they were good and didn’t want anything else. 

Leo had his own things, boosting team spirit in his own Leo way. He wanted to be like those good heroes, too. He found shirts for Mikey, scarves and knick knacks for Don, helped Raph de-stress by watching his favorite shows, getting Splinter’s tea ready when he wasn’t looking. He was happy, really he was. 

It was just hard sometimes. To pretend the big blue world outside the grates didn’t pull in stitches and seams at his chest when he stared too long, to pretend that the way his brothers groaned at his jokes didn’t make him feel like he was swallowing grey paint. To pretend like their constant near injuries and loud noises and pranks weren’t getting under his skin just a little. Mostly, he worried. He loved his brothers, and they loved him, but man, a guy needed a break. 

Sometimes he just wanted to be a kid, have his own group of friends that had inside jokes, have cool hang out places beyond just the junk heap down to the left of the big sewer pipe. He wanted to go places, help people, have someone actually think his motivational speeches were cool and  _ not laugh out loud, Don, jeeze.  _ The whole green and three fingered thing made that hard, go figure. What really pulled at his heart in the dead of the night was the fact there was a stone walled cage around him and the four people he loved so much it hurt, and none of them would probably never have anyone else ever. They’d all live underneath the ground and no one would ever know and that would be it, forever, the end. 

Don would tell him he was getting too existential, whatever that meant. Leo was the positive outlook when even Mike’s boundless enthusiasm died off, he couldn’t be negative. He was the constant determination, the drive to get up and try again. But sometimes, he just. Wanted to put the superhero movie on pause, and not think about the have to’s or the should be’s. There was a constant ache in him, something he’d never let loose even if he could find the words to stick to it.

Right now, he wanted a break. 

It wasn’t exactly like anyone had done anything wrong, either. Leo had been watching an old movie Don had found while scavenging, one about adventures and freedom and changing everyone’s perspectives of you. There’d also been aliens and humans hanging out and hey, maybe he was a sucker for the obvious parallels, but it had been like his brain was stuck in marshmallow pizza and wouldn’t switch tracks. Then Raph had gotten a little too concerned over a cut Don got on his leg while jumping over a trash pile, and Don was going through another one of his ‘I’m really into this New Thing and don’t have time for Sleep or Food, Actually I’ve decided those just Aren’t For Me’ moods, so he’d complained, and Mike accidentally careened into the room on his roller skates he definitely wasn’t allowed to use after Last Time and crashed into the coffee machine and everyone started yelling, and Leo just couldn’t. 

For all their typical antics, something about today had just itched the wrong way in the wrong place. 

Of course, Leo couldn’t even get a five minute brooding session these days. 

He’d splashed frustratedly through a narrower access tunnel, unthinkingly walking towards his favorite outlook. It was a giant opening, all the sewage connecting together and spewing into a big waterfall from every direction, and a great big grate over top. He had no idea what the opening was for, really, all the pipes and tubes twisting and churning around each other seemed like a pretty bad design, but it also was old and dusty and Leo had never seen a single human enter the area once. Mostly, he liked climbing up to this U-shaped dip in the widest pipe, so he could sit back and stare up at the big blue and pretend he was in a hammock somewhere else. 

He’d never told his brothers about it for obvious reasons, namely, because they’d all get that sad look in their eyes that meant they knew something but none of them could process what to say. Like their brains were all stuck somewhere between getting it and letting it go. Leo got that too, like he was trying to solve a puzzle meant for turtles aged 15 and up, like he’d look back and understand exactly why he was so confused. That one day all these big feelings would be smaller because he’d grow tall enough to fold them up and put them away in the right places. Mostly, he just didn’t like making them look all sad and constipated, so he didn’t bother trying to explain. 

He was sure Splinter knew about it, anyways. In the kind of way Dad’s always knew things. His eyes would shine a weird way when Leo said he was going out for a walk, and he’d lie back in his chair very slowly. Kind of like he was playing a nonchalant dad in a big play. Leo figured that was as much of a blessing as it was a note to be cautious. 

He’d been hoping for just a second to breathe, to take the big lumpy clay ball of gummy marshmallow feelings in him and squish it into something less annoying. As a family of soon to be ninjas though, he should have guessed that was even asking to much. Somewhere between the zigzag that lead to the dump pile, and the left turn to the wider sections, he heard the telltale buzzing of Mikey’s phone behind him. 

Mikey had a bad habit of wandering off, following whatever idea stuck in his tiny head and just vanishing. After the tenth time they’d had to spend hours yelling in the sewers with Dad’s help, only to find Mikey safe and sound at home when they turned around, Donnie had crafted up a tracking chip and put it inside the big zipped up sweater they forced Mike to wear at all times so he’d stop catching every cold and stealing Leo’s shirts. They’d also put his phone in a special pocket on the inside, which made a very specific sort of muffly rumble sound when they called him. 

Leo sighed. “Mike, you know you’re not supposed to be out this far alone.” 

Mikey hummed cheerfully, a closer sound than he’d expected actually. “Yep!” he said agreeably. Which in Mikey talk meant ‘ _ I’m here with you, though.’  _ An annoyingly indestructible argument. Foiled again.

There was a small headache forming behind Leo’s left eye. “Yeah, got me there. Look, just head back okay? I’ll be home real soon, and you don’t want Donnie getting all scary mad again, right?”

A splashing footstep moved closer, he felt a tug on his shirt. “Leo’s not happy,” Mikey said quietly, the same chipper unfazed tone as always. Normally, Leo would be touched by those simple words. Normally, he’d get a burst of pride like always when he was forcibly reminded at exactly how smart Mikey was in unconventional ways, because Mikey was so talented it was hard to think of all at once sometimes. Today, when all he could think of was a moment of quiet and time to mull over his weird thoughts about space pirates and teenage rebellion, he was just annoyed. He snorted, a gross bitter sound.

“Got that right! Guess who’s fault that is!” He’d meant it more as a teasing remark, probably, but he was clumsy sometimes with his words when he wasn’t measuring them all out for maximum comedic impact. It wasn’t really Mikey’s fault either, and he knew that, he was just. Conveniently the only one nearby. His eyes had slid sideways enough to catch the stunned blink, and the hurt in Mikey’s wide blue gaze. He didn’t want to apologize yet, this was Mikey after all. He could take teasing like nothing else, because he loved them back as fiercely as they all loved him.

“You never tell,” Mikey said, as serious as Leo had ever seen him, all big floppy sleeves and poked out tongue included. “When you’re sad, you never tell me.” 

Leo blinked a little at that, before the frustration came back full force. 

“Why do I have to tell you anything? You’re a baby! It’s not like you’d get it anyways! Just leave me alone, alright?” The words fell out without thinking, but the weight of them in the air was like a realization. One Leo wasn’t ready for yet, one he didn’t want to look at or think on at all. He wasn’t trying to be hurtful, either. There was just this great big bubbling thing in his chest that he couldn’t swallow down or smile around and _ Mikey shouldn’t even be here.  _

Mikey was definitely frowning now, but not in the anger sort of way, like he was trying to figure out a move in the dojo but his legs were too short to do it yet. The permanent sort of goofy happiness that he always had was still there, just. Lesser. A sharp glint of something lighting up in his content expression for just a moment.

“You hafta tell  _ someone _ , Leo.” 

That. Was too much, Leon decided. He wasn’t ready for his big eyed baby brother to know things about himself that Leo hadn’t even quite got a grasp on. Whatever anger had been coursing through him stopped dead in its tracks, switched gears, and barrelled full on into panic. 

Normally, Leo had all the consideration in the world for his babiest brother. Normally, he’d be aware that it was late Fall, and it was pretty chilly, enough so that the slightly wet stone around them had frozen over into a thin sheen of frost. Normally, he’d never run off and abandon his little brother, ever in a hundred years. 

Then again, normally, Mikey wasn’t able to absolutely pry into his heart and find his worst vulnerabilities like that, so maybe it was an off day for both of them. 

The panic had seeped into his heart like a slow mold being filled in, coating his tongue, the tips of his fingers, sliding sheets of ice against his knees. He didn’t know what his expression had morphed into, other than the strange steel in Mike’s eyes immediately crashed into surprise, and something intensely regretful, before Leo all but bolted down the pipes. 

He hadn’t been thinking, really. Maybe his brain was stuck on the image of the U-pipe and the blue sky, but he’d just sprinted away with all the built up electric fear burning in his legs.

And promptly forgotten about the ice, and the huge drop into the giant swirling chaos directly below his favorite spot. 

He could hear Mikey calling a faint “Leo!” behind him, and abruptly, a series of events crashed one by one too fast to process.

First, Leo’s foot slipped. Embarrassing for a ninja, sure, but he was also a ‘growing turtle’ and sometimes his limbs didn’t exactly do what he thought really hard about them doing. Especially not when running on pure panic. 

Second, the ledge of the U-pipe intersection approached way faster than he’d expected.

Third, Leo slipped directly off said ledge before he could so much as react to the fact he had in fact, lost traction. 

Fourth, before he could even think, before any of his instincts could kick in or the ‘eep!’ of fear could leave his mouth, something grabbed the back of his sweater and yanked him to a full stop and stealing the air from his lungs for a solid moment.

And fifth, as his vision cleared, was worst of all. An image that would stick in his brain for many, many years to come, the tell tale image of an orange scarf sliding into the waterfall below and out of sight.

Leo stared, horrified, his brain stuck between two gears and unwilling to move forwards. He slowly took in the world around him in stutter steps. He was hanging from a broken off piece of piping by his jacket, just barely missing the freefall into nothing, and Mikey had. Mikey had grabbed him and pulled him backwards far enough for his jacket to catch on. Goofy oblivious Mikey had saved his life by quick thinking, and then he’d.

“No,” Leo gasped, struggling all at once to flip around, to grab a hold of the pipe and get free, to move. Anything. “Mikey! No!!” This was a horror movie, he decided. He couldn’t move, and Mikey was. Mikey had. 

Leo’s brain decided now would be an excellent time to remember all the awful things he’d just finished saying. The implications that he didn’t want Mike following him around, that Mikey was an annoyance somehow, that it was his fault Leo was in such a grumpy mood. Lastly, loudly, like the thought could echo in his own mind, that Mikey was _ his responsibility. _

“No, no!” He couldn’t look away from where he’d seen those orange tails fading into the darkness below. He felt absolutely sick, he felt nothing. And then, in the darkness, barely visible, he saw a shape resurface, just above where the murky water cascaded into nothing. A shape, a dark jacket with a familiar orange band wrapped around the arm. 

“MIKEY!” Leo yelped, struggling again helplessly. It was Fall, the water was near freezing, if Mikey had made it in one piece all the way down there, he’d freeze up in moments. Mikey got sick easy! Last time he’d fallen in the water, they’d had to feed him spoonfuls of soup and a rub old cloth on his clammy head for days until he’d even opened his eyes. Leo watched the shell bob in the current, slowly following the trail towards the waterfall, and made a decision. 

Mikey was his responsibility, Mikey believed in him and tried to copy him and thought he was the coolest thing since the TV. Mikey had saved him. 

Leo shrugged his arm slowly from his sleeve, closed his eyes and thought, if he could be a hero, he’d be happy for the rest of his life just to be Mikey’s. He grabbed the pipe above him, let his jacket slide off into the darkness, and  _ jumped.  _

 

 

 

The cold of the water stole the air he’d stored up. He knew they were cold blooded, that in the winter when they’d been babies they’d still had to hibernate through the coldest months. Cold made them sleepy and sluggish now, but it was dangerous too. Leo almost panicked, driving his arms through the murky sludge seemed to be getting him nowhere. The current was stronger underneath the surface than it looked, and the cold was making it difficult for Leo to find his energy. But he had to, he knew. Master Splinter and Don and Raph were counting on him to keep Mikey safe, Mikey was too. He dug down deep inside his chest where that fluttering unfiltered fear wrapped all around him, and pushed. His arms met something lumpy a few strokes later, and he clung to it.  _ I got you Mike, big bro’s got you,  _ he thought, somehow finding the strength to kick harder. 

It was difficult, trying to hold onto Mike’s shell and paddle against the current. The cold leeched at him with every moment, and he could feel a burning wild thing in his throat that usually meant he was about to sob. A long silver glint flashed in front of him, a chain! Leo couldn’t grab onto it though with both hands around Mikey’s jacket coated shell, though. He was too scared if he shifted him at all that his brother would slip out of his hands and down into that big nothing at the bottom. It was like seeing the finish line but knowing you couldn’t make it, the silver chain started drifting little by little out of reach, and the fear built up in his chest like a cornered animal.  _ Mikey, Mike I’m so sorry, _ he thought heartbrokenly. 

A small cold hand wrapped around his, Leo glanced down to see a dazed Mikey blearily smiling at him through the murk. Absolute trust smiling up at him, pressed flat against Leo’s chest like he had no fear left in the world. The hand shifted to Leo’s carapace, hooking onto the hard plates by his neck with a nod. 

Leo let go of his frantic hold like it pained him, and pushed forwards in the current with everything he had left, the pressure on his front at the forefront beacon of his mind. 

He grabbed onto the chain after a few long, too long moments, and slowly fought to drag the two of them along. 

Feeling the ladder steps in front of them was like ice cream on a warm day, he pulled them both upwards, enough to break the surface and gulp in a breath of air. “H-hold on Mike! Please just keep holding, we’re-we’re almost there, okay? I-I got you!” 

Yanking their combined weight upwards should have been impossible, with his weak arms and chattering teeth. He was so, so tired, but Mikey’s grip was loosening just a little around the edges, and Leo couldn’t stop, not even for a moment. Somehow, he got the two of them upwards, Mikey dangling between the rungs and Leo’s chest with nothing but his own grip to keep him holding on. 

He staggered upright, wrapping both arms around his baby brother on the cold metal walkway, and flopped backwards. Mikey bundled in his arms, grip probably painfully tight, but Leo couldn’t think of a way to force himself to stop. 

“I got you, I got you,” Leo mumbled aimlessly, fear numbing into something so painfully relieved he could barely think. That had been close, too close, and. It was still cold, and Mikey was. 

“D-don’t ever do that, ever again.” He gasped. And after a long moment, a quiet hiccuping sob. “S-sorry, Mike. I’m, I’m so sorry.”

Mikey’s tired eyes peered up at him from a half lidded gaze, his pudgier hand uncurling from Leo’s chest to pat calmly on the spot above his frantically thumping heart, too exhausted to speak. 

It was a thank you, an apology, a wordless emotion too tangled up in stuff neither of them could explain, but Leo understood. He squeezed Mikey tighter and just, breathed. 

 

 

 

Leo had absolutely no idea where they were. Some access pathway that had seen better days, way below the usual paths he knew how to get home with. He’d always had a sort of sixth sense about directions, and he could guesstimate the approximate path they’d have to start heading down, but Mikey was soaking wet and freezing, and he needed some place warm like Right Now, Immediately. 

“Hey, hey Mike. You gotta stay with me buddy, okay? No fallin’ asleep.” He patted the side of Mikey’s cheeks trying to get that hazy blue gaze to focus back up at him. “C-come on, my jokes aren’t that boring are they?”

Mikey smiled dopily. “A-always funny, Leo. Even wh-when I don’t laugh. Still funny.” 

Oh, his heart was definitely gunna overflow now. “Thanks bud. Save your energy, okay? No more talking, you focus on not falling asleep.”

He wasn’t sure if that was the right move, in all honesty. He wasn’t Don, he didn’t know about the effects of hibernation or anything, but the glazed look in Mikey’s eye made him nervous. The water in the pipe hadn’t exactly been deep and Mike had fallen an awful long ways, Leo worried he might have smacked his head or something. 

He hoisted up Mikey, letting his brother crawl on his shoulders like he did with Raph. It was a little heavy, and Leo was a little weaker than normal after his ice bath and subsequent bone shuddering relief, but he could manage. He _ would  _ manage.

“Okay, n-now I just gotta find some place warm, and wait for the guys to find us. Easy peasy, right?” 

He had checked Mikey’s sewn in pocket for his phone after they’d managed to catch their breath, but the screen had been cracked somewhere along the way. Donnie had built the thing to withstand a lot, including water and being dropped a long ways, so the damage to the phone didn’t exactly soothe his fears that Mikey was nursing some kind of secret injury. He was hoping though that the tracking chip was still functional. If not, well. He didn’t really want to think about the if not. 

Mikey’s hand tapped his head cheerfully as he bit back a yawn. “Right right!” He singsonged back. 

Walking along the old metal walkway felt like ice spikes against his feet. Usually the sewers were warmer than the surface, something about water staying warm longer. It was just his luck that they’d had a cold Fall and lots of snow, and this particular stream was from the run off street slush. Leo needed to think about something else, the cold was already sitting too hard against his lungs and he had to stay alert. 

“Mike? You know I think you’re the coolest, right?” The tunnel was awfully dark and quiet, his voice bounced back at him with a fragile note he didn’t like too much.

Mikey hummed above him, before wrapping his arms around Leo’s neck carefully and pressing his cold cheek to Leo’s temple. “Can’t be, that’s you!” 

Leo smiled, maybe a little shakily. “Course! Family trait, being so cool. U-um. You know you really saved my shell back there buddy, you got some quick thinking. Sorry I got us into this mess, but uh- don’t worry, Leo’s gunna get us out of here, just you see!” 

Mikey hummed happily, yawning again. “Leo’s my favorite superhero,” Mikey mumbled. Leo’s heart was aching it was so full, he squeezed Mikey’s ankle tightly. 

“Remember, no fallin’ asleep! I n-need your sharp eyes, okay?” It made him a little nervous that Mike wasn’t shivering anymore. He guessed it was probably a good thing, maybe he was warming up somehow. 

A few moments passed in silence, Leo nervously weighing his options if they couldn’t find some place soon. He figured if they kept walking forward, they’d have to find the place where the water was running off from at the very least. And if they climbed up, just a little, Leo could get his bearings and find them the right path home. On the other hand, if they could find a place to huddle up and keep warm, at least Leo could make sure Mikey was okay while he recuperated enough for them to head back to the big access tunnel and find a way to climb back up. There had to be a point this tunnel went more towards the surface, he figured, if there was water flowing in. 

If he was wrong then him and Mikey would freeze alone in the middle of nowhere and become Turtle-pops for his family to find. No pressure. 

“Leo,” Mikey mumbled, breaking his focused silence. 

He blinked, shaking himself internally. “Yeah, bud? You doin’ alright?” 

Mikey felt heavier, almost, something like dread settled on the backs of Leo’s teeth. 

“Wanna go home,” Mikey almost whispered. 

Leo swallowed. “Y-yeah, I know. We’re gunna head there, okay? Just gotta…. Just gotta get warmed up first. You know Raph’s probably out looking already, since you uh, you didn’t answer your phone back there. You know how he gets.” 

Actually, Leo felt a faint smile cross his face, Raph was probably yanking Don out the door after them as they spoke. There was a rule that Mikey had to answer if anyone called him and he wasn’t at home, because he’d gotten lost so many times already Splinter said it wasn’t good for Raph’s health. Actually, it wasn’t good for any of them, really. The last time Mikey had gotten lost before they started putting his phone inside his sweater, Don had stumbled across Mikey’s scarf in the middle of the junkyard and ended up scouring for three hours. Mikey had just wandered into their Lair again after the first 30 minutes and turned the TV on by himself while everyone was running around calling his name. Stumbling back home distraught and stressed just to find their baby brother watching cartoons and smiling happily up at them was, something alright. 

“They’re probably right around the corner! Ha, yeah! We just gotta-” Leo stifled his own yawn and blinked slowly. “Gotta keep goin’.” 

Mikey didn’t respond. 

“Betcha Don’s gunna have a….a whole new thingy majig when we get back. Some kind of… anti slip spray he’ll put all over the sewers.” Leo laughed to himself, quietly. “That’d be a sight. Don, just… laughing to himself and shaking his fist at the ice like it was his personal enemy.” He shook his head smiling. “What do they call a-a guy who’s not really a hero but not really a villain? He’d be one of those but… but about ice.” 

Leo yawned again, and stumbled a little. His head felt really heavy, it took him a solid minute to realize it wasn’t just because Mikey was leaning on it. A very distant part of him was screaming at him, that this was Bad, that he was getting tired and Mikey wasn’t answering. He kept walking out of sheer automated movements. He’d taken Mikey’s jacket off earlier and tied it around his waist. It felt like getting hugged by a snowman. Leo giggled at the thought. 

“Snowman…. S’no problem, hah. Ice… to meet you,” he muttered, yawning so widely his eyes watered. Mikey didn’t react. Leo scoffed, “Cold reception, jeeze…”

He craned his head up to see if Mikey was laughing, muggily forgetting Mikey was leaning on him, and stumbled forwards a couple of steps. He tripped over his own feet, steps lazier and sluggish now, and fell forwards. 

And directly through some kind of wooden door. 

Welp, that woke him up for the time being. 

He blinked around, Mikey had fallen off of his shoulders, sprawled across the ground in front of him. They were in some kind of run down maintenance room, he guessed. Dusty cobwebs and musty control panels lined the walls. Stranger than that, though, was the large, hulking alligator, blinking confusedly back at them. 

_ Oh _ , Leo thought.

“Hello,” he managed, still upside down on his shell. “Uh, sorry for barging in?”

  
  


 

 

Leo hadn’t exactly been thinking the guy was going to try to attack them or anything, but it wasn’t often they encountered anything down in the sewers. Let alone a mutant. Extra let alone a sentient mutant with gentle hands and strange scars. 

“You’re freezing,” the alligator told him, bundling him and his brother in a ratty blanket and pushing them towards a small fire he’d built. “You’re going to catch a cold.” 

“Um,” Leo tried to say, but he was pretty sure this moth bitten mouldy blanket was actually the most soft and comfortable thing he’d ever felt in his life, and it was a little hard to argue. “Thanks.” He wished his brain was working better than molasses right now, Splinter had taught him manners after all. “Sorry for breaking your door.” That was better. 

The alligator had bright eyes, Leo noted. Sad bright eyes. “It’s okay, you’re safe here.”

Leo thought that was a really nice sentiment, and cuddled Mikey closer into his side. Mike was out cold, he realized. Which was probably a bad thing, but, at least he was warmer now. 

“I’m Leo,” he said, after a moment. The alligator paused with whatever he was doing to the small fire and looked up at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Leo.” 

He coughed, frowned a little. “Um, do you… have a name?” 

The alligator looked sad again, Leo felt bad for asking. “Oh! That’s okay, I mean. It’s not okay that you don’t have a name, that’s. Actually really sad, but I mean no pressure or anything! I can just call you like, Big Friendly Guy or something.” 

The alligator made a huffing sound, Leo assumed it was a laugh.

“Really um, thank you though. My- my brother fell in the water and he doesn’t do too well in the cold. I was really worried.” 

The alligator placed one large scaled hand on Mikey’s forehead and one on Leo’s and frowned to himself. “He is a little warmer.” Leo wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, he pulled Mikey a little bit closer. 

“Do you both have somewhere to go?” Leo blinked up at him. 

“Oh! Yeah, I mean our family is probably worried and looking for us, but we fell down pretty far? I’m not sure how to get back home.” 

The alligator man looked thoughtful for a moment, “a family is a beautiful gift.” 

Leo kinda thought this guy was a little tragic, honestly. Leo gave him a smile as best he could, it felt a little sad too. “You got that right.” 

Mikey yawned and blinked his eyes, slow and obviously tired. Leo’s heart leapt in his chest with rocket fuel tinged relief to even see him awake at all. “Hey pal, nice of you to join us,” he rubbed Mikey’s shoulder under the blankets affectionately. “You gotta meet our friend here, he was nice enough to give us this fire. Pretty neat, right?”

Mikey seemed like he was in slow motion, but he obediently looked over to where Leo gestured with a wide, owlish blink. He rubbed his eyes through the blanket, and turned back to Leo. 

“Does that man have leather for a head?” Leo…. didn’t know what to say to that. 

Luckily, the alligator laughed. A loud, surprised guffaw that seemed to burst out of him in a way that surprised him even more. Mikey glanced back over, and a slow smile spread across his face like sunlight over open water. 

“Leatherhead, huh? I quite like that, actually.” The alligator wiped a tear of mirth from his eye, grinning. 

“You can have it for free!” Mikey chirped back, as sing singy and cheerful as ever. Leo felt like a valve that had been twisting and twisting since this morning began had finally sprung loose. Like that bubbling awful thing in him had frozen up and set sail. He hugged Mikey closer, feeling for all the world like the luckiest big brother that ever could have existed. Mikey really was the coolest. 

 

 

 

 

Mikey was having a weird day. He usually didn’t notice much, not like the walls or where he was going, or why he  _ needed to draw on the walls, sensei.  _ He mostly just followed whatever his heart said to do, and what his brothers told him…. Mostly. He didn’t fight it when they told him to wear a sweater and zipped it up all the way to his chin, because it was cozy, and he hated being cold anyways. He didn’t question the cellphone in his pocket, because he loved listening to his brothers talk and this way he could do it more. He didn’t question it when Don insisted on going out on his own, or slipped kneepads on his bony legs, or when Raph hovered and worried and hugged just a little too hard. Usually, he didn’t question when Leo wandered off on his own either. He noticed when people looked wrong though. It was a particular weight they wore in capes that never settled right on their shoulders. 

When Don was sad it looked like dark purple moons under his purple mask, grey washed out words, and never looking anyone in the eye. With Raph it was big wet tears and alone time huddled up in dark corners of his bedroom, and being extra willing to be cuddly. 

With Leo it was subtle, trickier in different ways to pull out and lay flat and point at to go “hey, this is where it all went wrong.” Sometimes Leo hid things behind his smirks and his jokes, like awful presents stuffed away in secret corners. Mikey could see them, he just couldn’t see in them. Which was a weird rule. 

Mikey didn’t do too good with rules. 

Leo was also so sparkly and shiny that Mikey couldn’t help but notice. He felt big and soft around all his brothers, like hugging them made him the tallest turtle in the room and he could sprout right out into outer space if he tried. Getting Leo’s attention felt somehow extra special, like the rings around a planet that seemed goofy but were so pretty you wanted them too. He would look at Mikey and smile his usual smirk, but then something would light up in his eyes like a candle in a dark room, and he’d rub his hand on Mikey’s head and it felt like a big sweater or his favorite soup. Leo was always the type of hero he wanted to be, the kind that did things in secret because he didn’t want anyone to notice, and covered his gold heart up behind bright teeth so no one would be too genuine. 

Mikey knew things, in a different way than Donnie or even Raph and Leo, but he knew Leo deserved to be shining in a spotlight. He was happy just to be part of it. 

When Leo yelled at him, he wasn’t upset for himself, because he knew Leo would apologize and give him extra ice cream and hugs. He was sad because Leo didn’t get it. The fact that his sad was a palpable blue stress in the air that made all the other colours warp, and every time he got like this Mikey could hear a steam whistle warning that meant he had to let it out or turn off the heat. Dad said that water that hot would ruin the tea, he didn’t want the steam feelings Leo never shared to ruin him like a tea leaf. 

But then Mikey had fallen in to the ice cold water, and Leo had jumped in afterwards and let him sit on his shoulders, and found a way to keep them warm and toasty. And when Mr. Leatherhead had offered to show them the way back after they’d warmed up, and they’d met their family with a bunch of hugs and yelling Leo didn’t even say he’d done anything that awesome. He kept saying stuff about responsibility and thanking Mike’s quick thinking, and that was kind of sad too. 

That he should even be surprised Mikey thought of him first. “You’d have saved me too,” he tried to say, but he had been sleepy and everyone had been talking and it didn’t matter much anyways. 

Mikey was a little sad Mr. Leatherhead had disappeared into the darkness before he could introduce him, but he’d made Mikey keep the old blanket and said he’d be around if they ever needed anything. He decided he really liked Mr. Leatherhead, and Leo had been so amazing, today wasn’t so bad, really. Meeting a new friend was always nice. Icy water and the sniffles was a little less so. 

The next few days, he’d gotten really sick. Donnie said something about expecting it, which meant he’d feel better soon, so he wasn’t worried. He didn’t like it much though, and he could tell in the tilt of Donnie’s brow that he didn’t either. He made some kind of special heat blanket for him that felt like a big hug, and Mikey nuzzled a little into his hand when he brushed Mikey’s forehead.

Raphie kept getting all weepy and trembly around the edges, so Mikey made sure to give him his best smile. Leo was the worst, he wouldn’t leave his room to sleep or eat or anything. Just kept looking all steam whistle and frazzled, like a crayon just a little outside the lines. 

The room was all blurry and swimmy and he felt a little bit like crying because his throat hurt so much, but when he looked up, Leo was there with a straw looking so concerned it made Mikey’s heart hurt more. 

“‘Eo,” he said, and his voice cracked and burned and he winced a little which made Leo’s fast twist down more. 

“Hey shh, don’t talk Mike.” Leo’s hand kept smoothing across Mikey’s brow and it felt so calming he felt his eyelids droop a little. But he had something important to say, he had to get Leo to smile again. “Your throats pretty messed up, just get some rest.”

“Leo,” Mikey tried again, “you okay?” 

Leo paused, his face flattening and then twisting into something complicated, his eyes seemed real shiny. He seemed to force a smile to tilt on one side of his cheek, a bad drawing of his usual confident smirk. “Course, you got me out of there didn’t ya? Besides, I’m your big bro, I don’t-”

Mikey put his shaking clammy hand on top of the one Leo was leaning on against the bed. He looked up at Leo the best he could, and saw the exact moment Leo’s smile fell off like a painting in a windstorm. The face underneath was tired, impossibly so. Mikey squeezed his hand tighter. 

A loud sigh filled the space between them. “Sorry I let you fall, Mike.” 

Mikey frowned, a series of protests bubbling up in his dry throat but Leo held his free hand up. “Don’t. I should have been more careful, I gotta be. I’m not ever gunna let you get hurt while I’m around, okay? Promise.” 

“Can’t prom’se,” Mikey croaked. “Don’t havfta. Just,” he coughed abruptly, his lungs burning painfully in his chest. “Just take care’a Leo too.”

Leo paused, that sad tired look freezing for a long moment, before melting off his cheeks. Something softer and fond seeped in, sunlight through a sewer grate. 

“Okay, buddy. I promise.” 

Mikey smiled and closed his eyes, content for the moment to hold his big brothers hand and rest. It was really great having your hero as a cuddly and caring older brother, he was pretty sure he’d get more chances to make sure Leo knew he was pretty amazing the way he was. 

After all, the particular flip-grab combo he’d used to pull Leo’s jacket backwards he’d learned by watching Leo practice in the dojo. And Leo had been the one brave enough to follow him off that big scary cliff, even though he couldn’t tuck into his shell the way Mikey could. 

Leo once said that was Mikey’s superpower. That he could tuck himself in his Steel Shell! Hurtle at amazing speeds without a single scratch! Become a hockey puck at will! He thought it was funny, and Leo would do goofy voices and Mikey would draw up a logo they could tape to his front while Raph laughed along and plopped Mikey safely on a pile of pillows. The amazing M and L! Ninja brothers who flip and jump! Stop the bad guys with one look because they looked so cool! 

Mikey thought maybe Leo thought he was joking then, too. That every time he drew up a big logo for Leo to wear, or drew them in costumes fighting crime like Batman, Leo wasn’t getting it. Mikey thought he could just keep drawing it better and one day Leo would look at it and do that slow smile he always had whenever someone complimented him and really meant it. Leo always watched those superhero shows on TV, and talked about wishing he could be that cool, and Mikey just kept drawing. 

He didn’t ever seem to know he was already that cool, and more. He was always around when Mikey needed him, he patched up his bumps and scraped knees so carefully and snuck Mikey extra desserts sometimes. Leo was fun and told amazing stories and made Mikey laugh, and he smiled so big it made Mikey’s heart feel like a confetti ball ready to pop out with a big surprise.

He’d never once doubted Leo would be there to help him back up, to pull him back out of the cold water and keep him safe, not even for a second. Cause real heroes never let you down, and Leo was the coolest hero he knew.  

**Author's Note:**

> I'm over @ clankclunk on twitter or tumblr if you wanna chat!


End file.
